The ECU Pirates are a team to watch for, but what are some realistic expectations for the outcome of their 2014 season?
With South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina in consecutive weeks, this schedule certainly has its challenges. But ECU has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in senior Shane Carden, and should be able to compete in every game.
We will go ahead and mark USC as a loss, because the Gamecocks have been one of the most consistent teams over the past three seasons. After that, I don’t see another sure loss for the Pirates. They were able to compete with Virginia Tech in 2008 and 2013, winning the 2008 matchup. Last season, the Pirates were able to trounce the Tar Heels 55-31, so don’t count them out of a win just yet.
Realistically speaking, the AAC is a weaker conference, so ECU will find itself hanging in just about every conference game. The two games that stand out are against Cincinnati and UCF; those will be the two of the most difficult conference games, but both are definitely winnable. George O’Leary has good momentum down in Orlando, but losing Blake Bortles will set him back a little bit. Playing at Cincinnati is a challenging matchup because of Tommy Tuberville and the Bearcats’ home field environment.
If Carden is able to play like he did a year ago, this offense has the chance to be special, especially with the talent at wide receiver he has at his disposal. Last season the offense ranked 9th in the country in points per game, but it didn’t concede good offense with bad defense; Ruffin McNeil’s defensive unit allowed 24.8 points per game, which was good for 49th in the nation. While this side of the ball improved, there are question marks in the back end for that will need to be answered.
I think realistically, ECU is looking at 10-2 record at best and a 7-5 mark at worst. This team has a good chance at winning the AAC conference title and making a good bowl game—Phil Steele predicts that the Pirates will play Georgia Tech in the Military Bowl. A bowl win could be another great step for ECU, and with the transition to the AAC, the Pirates will start to become a more familiar name in college football.
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